Old school asbestos clear-up to cost council more than £2.5m

A council is facing a bill of amore than £2.5m to remove "extensive asbestos" discovered in two of its former schools.

Surveys carried out at the former Galashiels Academy and Peebles High School buildings revealed the scale of the issue.

Councillors have been told it will cost £1.6m in Galashiels and at least £1m in Peebles.

They heard there would also be costs associated with asbestos at Hawick High School - which is due to be replaced - but that figure had still to be finalised.

Scottish Borders Council has been in the process of replacing many of its secondary schools in recent years.

In November 2025, a replacement for Peebles High School - which was badly damaged by fire in 2019 - opened its doors.

A few months later, pupils set foot on a brand new secondary in Galashiels.

The contract was also recently awarded to construct a new £56m Hawick High School, on the same site as the current building.

However, executive committee councillors heard there were significant costs attached to asbestos removal at two of the sites.

John Curry, assets and infrastructure director, said: "It was only after these intrusive surveys were carried out that extensive asbestos was found in the buildings.

"They also identified the difficulties involved in its removal.

"The sum was well above what we had forecast in the capital plan in terms of estimates for asbestos and that's largely because when you do asbestos removal, and when you're costing that, you need to go with the information you've got."

He said detailed checks tended to only be carried out once a building was empty due to the risks of contamination.

Deputy council leader Scott Hamilton added: "Record keeping with many of these old buildings isn't what we would expect today and we often get surprises when we strip back the outer shells.

"The priority always when dealing with something like asbestos is to carry out the work as safely and appropriately as we can, and that comes at a cost."

Asbestos is a general name given to several naturally occurring fibrous minerals that have crystallised to form fibres.

The strong fibres do not dissolve in water or evaporate, and are resistant to degradation from chemicals, heat and fire.

Asbestos was once thought of as an ideal material for insulation in buildings, boilers and pipes.

However, due to the health risks from inhaling asbestos, the importation of blue and brown asbestos has been banned in the UK since 1985.

This ban was extended to include white asbestos in 1999.

Exposure increases the risk of lung cancer including mesothelioma as well as other cancers and non-cancerous conditions such as asbestosis or pleural disease.